Mango #6: You Go First & Nutmeg #24: Broken Record & Chopped Nuts
Author: fluorescent_x
Challenge: Mango, Nutmeg
Topping: Chopped Nuts
Word Count: 378
Rating: PG
Story: Relentless
Summary: Circe always makes sure to have her timer with her.
Note: Sadly, I can see Cecelia acting like this if it were actually her job...
During her break, Circe often liked to eat lunch in the gymnasium and watch Cecelia teach class. It usually involved her eardrums nearly bursting because of Cecelia’s habit of using a megaphone to scream orders over at teams.
Cecelia couldn’t memorize a paragraph of text from anything, but she was a ruthless and unrelenting coach who had tendencies of working everyone until they dropped like flies. She would leave the gym with a very satisfied grin.
One Wednesday Circe decided to pull out a chair and chew on a sandwich while watching people scatter around, trying to get from point A to point B and not get mixed up over the jumbled screeches coming from the megaphone.
“If you’re wearing a red vest, move to the station at the end there!” Cecelia yelled, indicating to the rack of balls against the wall, almost out of view. She turned to the blue group and gave them orders, the same for the yellow and green.
Seeing the gymnasium in such a hurry reminded Circe of the lab rats she needed to feed after her break ended. She finished her sandwich and pulled a digital timer from her pocket. Black numbers flashed on the green screen, her thumb rolling over the switch that would start the timer.
She watched Cecelia closely.
“Yellow team, you’re going to race from this white line and run six laps around the gym.” The redhead explained as she scooted over to the line and hunched over.
One of the players gave her a look. “Coach, what’re you doing?”
There was a twinkle in her eye. “I’ll make you all a bet. Beat me in a ten lap race and I’ll dismiss you all forty-five minutes early.”
Excited murmurs broke out among the large group. One by one they lined up, waiting anxiously for Cecelia to give the signal.
“On the count of three…” she told them prior to moistening her lips and calling the premature three and bolted out, the squeaking of her shoes growing further away. “COACHES FIRST!” she shouted.
“THAT’S CHEATING!”
Circe stared at the changing numbers and pressed the button to stop timing Cecelia after ten laps. She pushed out her lower lip, her eyebrows rising high. “Wow, she beat her other record…”